G.B.H Written by Alan Bleasdale Starring Robert Lindsay, Michael Palin and Julie Walters Reviewed by Julia Stevens GIVEN Alan Bleasdale's past form, one would have expected G.B.H. to be yet again a savage indictment of the establishment as we saw in Boys from the Blackstuff.
Instead, in the first two episodes, we have been 'treated' to a gross distortion of the left. A lot of the time, Bleasdale's supposedly trotskyist activists indulge in acts of thuggery that even the state would think twice After all the hype and trumpeting surrounding this new seven part drama, I found it very disappointing. Although the acting, direction and script were very professional, the whole premise of the story is an outrageous fabrication of the truth about the real organised left, so that it totally overshadows any subtler points that may conceivably be found in the plot.
In the battle of wills between the central characters, it is always the left that comes off looking like unscrupulous bastards, while the new realist right appear to be the reasonable, sensible people - the ones who really want the best for everyone. a good deal of strong political dialogue:
'Don't you ever dare suggest that what you're doing has anything to do with socialism!' springs to mind as a statement, I for one would love to have the opportunity to throw at Kinnock (although it must be said that he rarely does suggest that these days). And Robert Lindsay as Michael Murray (the charismatic council leader) captures beautifully the not-very-veiled threat:
'There was a time, when you impressed me' is a line I can well imagine Thatcher murmuring as she dispatched one of her many victims back to the backbenches.
But Murray, it appears is the one with the people on his side, the one really fighting for new council housing, the one supporting the non-payment campaign, the one pushing for action against the Tory goverment. And Nelson is the inactive Labour Party member, who goes to work on a general day of action.
Even worse, we now meet Mervyn Sloan, the leader of a 'trotskyist' sect who have claimed Murray as their own. But they are pushing Murray into attacking the black and asian community in the city in order to provoke a fightback.
"I would hate to be... darkskinned myself in this racist society' says Sloan when Murray, to his credit, protests. But the ace up the sleeve for Sloan's group is their connections high up in the Labour No. 4 Murray's sinister indiscretion as a child and it seems they have no compunction in using this knowledge to force Murray into agreeing with their plans.
Before the first episode was screened, Bleasdale vigorously defended his left credentials, and claimed that G.B.H was not intended to portray the left in general in a bad light. But that is ciearly what it does!
Regardless of whether there are examples of thuggery on the left, as Bleasdale well knows, that is neither the main message, nor even a significant part of the British left scene.
It's hard enough to gain space for left views in this country, without people ostensibly on our side portraying the left as thugs who can attack a class of young children without a qualm.
As a piece of drama, G.B.H has some merit. As a commentary on a segment of society, it has an incredibly dangerous, reactionary message, and distorts reality in the extreme.
From the writer of Boys from the Blackstuff - in my view one of the best pieces of social commentary for many years - G.B.H. is a sad and worrying disappointment.! hope Bleasdale soon returns to the form he showed he could produce with Blackstuff and can reclaim his position as one of Britain's great left writers.
June 22, 1991 Page 11
Kate Ahrens Marxism